Cisco results show economy is in recovery

Cisco Systems reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat expectations with good sequential growth, giving hope that the ailing economy is on the upswing.

The network equipment maker on Wednesday reported that fiscal first-quarter profits and revenue that were down from the same quarter a year ago but up from the previous quarter.

Cisco reported a quarterly profit of $1.8 billion, or 36 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.2 billion, or 42 cents a share, for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue for the first fiscal quarter in 2009 was $9 billion, down from $10.3 billion during the same quarter a year prior.

Analysts had expected Cisco to report earnings of 31 cents a share on revenue of $8.75 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Even though revenue and earnings were lower than a year ago, Cisco grew revenue and earnings, compared to the previous quarter. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Cisco reported profits of $1.1 billion, or 19 cents a share. And it reported revenue of $8.5 billion.

Cisco CEO John Chambers commented on the company's strong sequential growth, saying the gains are a good indication that economy is in recovery.

"Building off what we saw as a clear tipping point in (the fourth quarter), our (first-quarter) results continued to reflect strong sequential growth trends that meet or exceed expectations during normal economic times," he said in a statement. "We view the improving economic outlook, combined with solid execution on our growth strategy, as creating unparalleled opportunity to drive more value into the core of the network."